84°F
weather icon Clear

Man charged with stealing bronze vases from cemetery

RENO -- A Nevada man has been charged with stealing bronze vases from a cemetery and pawning them to a recycling center for money.

Brett Allen, 35, has been charged with burglary and possession of stolen property in the July theft of more than 150 vases from Our Mother of Sorrows Cemetery in Reno, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Investigators said the recycling center called police to alert them they had purchased three vases from the suspect for $25 after learning of the cemetery thefts.

Cemetery operations manager Sophia Mitchell said the vases held flowers for the deceased, and most of the few vases that police were able to return to the cemetery were damaged.

The price of copper -- the main component of bronze -- is at a near record.

MOST READ
Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST
 
Hope of finding Texas flood survivors dims as search efforts go on

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott planned to make another visit Tuesday to Camp Mystic, the century-old all-girls Christian summer camp where at least 27 campers and counselors died during the flash floods.

MORE STORIES